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The comic scene has boomed in India since the last decade and comedy has become a decent carrier option for many. But despite this all development and booming field, there is still a wide disparity between male and female comics. The female comic still is in minority as compared to the male comic in the stand-up and open mic scene.
The main problem lies in the fact that we have categorized them into male and female comics themselves. Comedy is a genre and it is not dependent upon the gender of the person who is performing the act of comedy. Sure there are comic acts that suit only a particular gender but it is wrong to compartmentalize them into male and female comics. This has the effect f marginalizing them and they are often seen as not up to the mark in terms of ale comics. The social factors also come into play as the. Most of the audience members are not comfortable when a female comic makes a joke about an uncomfortable issue that is considered taboo in society. Whereas if a male comic makes such a joke then they are reacted by huge applause. The discrimination in the comic industry itself presents and it was seen in the #metoomovement where female comics have to face a sexist environment from the male comics. If they will not have enough support from the industry itself, then how will they grow and prosper in the industry?
We have to change our mindset regarding the whole female comics. First of all, we have to remove the gender tag before comics. A human can be funny regardless of its gender, the whole tagging of mal and female comics does not make any sense at all. It’s like saying a male and a female doctor, who are equally trained and talented will work differently just because of their gender. With the ever diluting genders under the rainbow umbrella, this whole male-female comic divide is useless. Also, we have to change our archaic mindset, we have to accept that our constitution gives equal freedom of speech and they have an equal right to express themselves.